Ash Imagery is a film photographer based in Philadelphia and Upstate NY. Ash Imagery will photograph weddings and elopements in Philadelphia, Lake Placid, the Adirondacks and around the world. Ash Imagery also offers Boudoir photographer and commercial photography such as lifestyle sessions. Ash Imagery is considered to be a Film Wedding Photographer and a Film Photographer with a unique style and vision. Ash Imagery is owned by Michael Ash Smith, a portrait and lifestyle photographer based in Philadelphia using film as his primary medium.

Carli + Jesse. A Friedman Farms Wedding.

This is the bride's email to me after seeing her wedding slideshow. It pretty much sums up the day. I am so thankful to have clients like Carli and Jesse and this is exactly why I photograph weddings:

Mike,

I don't mean to be awkward, but I think I love you! No seriously, I am artistically completely in love with you. These are spectacular.

I was so happy at the big day, but after I started worrying about, did we get one with my sister? Did my boobs look crazy big, am I going have one that I love that I love the way everyone looks ect? Should I have done a first look and/or one with the flower girls and grandchildren??? I actually agonized over this a bit because some pictures went up on Facebook and I started picking things apart.

Then I got this slide show, and I was right back in my happiest day. I love the way I look, which I know is vain, but I'm not a picture person usually. I love that I remember what was happening right around each picture and that I didn't even realize you were there for some of my absolute favorites. I especially love the one where I am hugging my cousin and and the one where Jesse is on the phone trying to convince me to move the ceremony inside, HA! They are beautiful, but more than that, I don't care how beautiful they are because all I can think about when I look at them is how much I love my husband and my family and my friends. They, the pictures, are all so alive. I'm an opera singer, and you have some how managed to make me not be critical of my appearance in photos but to really see that they are more about the story than the bodies. They are about the tears and smiles and hugs and surprises and bad dancing and all of that.

You are a very special person, and have a very giving spirit, and I was glad to have that with me on the big day. I will never forget freaking out because all those people were in the room and I thought we were behind, and you calmly showed me the time and said we were ok. I really think you were the only calm one there, lol. Also, when you told my Aunt Angel that you were a professional, i.e. chill out, everyone in my family wanted to kiss you!

What I am trying to say is thank you. Not only have you immortalized the happiest day of my life in such a beautiful and artistic way, but you have woken me up to what photography can be. I'd never taken the time to see how artistically special it could be, and now I want a film camera so I can start experimenting.